Nine
by Darksknight
Summary: Nine days, nine lives. Rangiku thought she was ready for the future. She was wrong.
1. Chapter 1

Guess who's decided to make a little summer-time fic? (If you guessed me, that would be 100% correct.) In celibration of actually having a moment to myself, I've decided to start another fic. It will update once a day and I will post until it's finished. (Unlike all my other half-done fics that I've just kind of left on their own... sorry about them.) So, I hope everyone enjoys the sudden attack of almost-AU UNEDITED ginran. Good luck to anyone who hasn't taken their finals yet!

* * *

_Nine days, nine lives._..

Rangiku is very deeply connected to cats. She adopted a cat when she was young. That cat had passed away- bless her white furry soul- and then she had taken in two other strays without Gin's knowledge. She's always loved the animal, and so she was understandably pleased to find her soul slayer manifested into a cat- an ash cat.

So one could say Rangiku was some-what connected to the number nine. Nine lives for the neko, as it went. Nine times she had sprained her right ankle, nine times had she gotten into a bar fight with another woman, nine times she'd failed a mission. Nine times she had woken up thinking Gin was alive after he died.

And so, nine months after Gin was good and gone, she found herself staring Unohana Retsu in the face, lips pressed into a thin line as she nodded.

"If you're completely sure," The captain said lightly, smiling. "Then you would make a very nice candidate, Matsumoto-san. It's a dangerous mission, but I am sure of your abilities."

She nodded lightly, sort of distracted. "Yeah. Give me the basic run-down one more time before I leave."

"Very well then." Unohana sat down in her chair, still smiling pleasantly. "You will go twenty seven years forward- hardly the blink on an eye for someone like us, but a bit of a strain on the body to take all at once. You should be fine, but then, you know all the risks." She laughed softly.

"Mm-hm. And then?"

"You will have thirteen days while you're there. Once you find the object, keep it on you. On the final day you will be taken back here. It will be similar to suddenly stepping into a sikimon… Is that all you need?"

She looked at the drawing of the object- it looked like a silver cat about the size of a watermelon. There was a gold symbol in the center of the object. "What is the thing again?"

"On of squad twelves' very important… things." She laughed softly again. She clearly didn't care for squad twelve. "It malfunctioned. Usually it keeps things in an isolated time barrier, but it somehow ended up in the human realm many years in the future."

"Okay."

"Remember, stay away from soul society- we don't need you messing up any affairs that may be according in that time window. Please stay in the human realm, and only perform shinigami activities if it's completely necessary."

Rangiku nodded. "I'm ready."

Unohana stood, taking a needle full of a clear serum from the counter, tapping it to free any trapped bubbles of air inside. "In that case, lay down and relax. Once you're asleep we'll put you through the sikimon. You'll return to this time tomorrow."

"I'm ready." She said.

As the needle slid into her arm, she closed her eyes. She thought she was ready for the future.

She was not.


	2. Chapter 2

You're all probably noticing I'm breaking my update-once-a-day promise. I'm finding it harder than I expected to get to any sort of computer, so updates may not be out as regularly as I hoped. Sorry for that- and thank you for all the reviews! I promise to get around to replying later, but as it is I barely have time to write. Enjoy!

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When Rangiku opened her eyes, she first took survey of herself. Being an alcoholic made her wary of waking up without clothing, but to her satisfaction she found she was wearing a cute brown skirt, white flats, and a cream tank top. She was further gladdened to find she was still wearing her silver necklace, which was trapped under her long hair.

_Very long…_

She sat up and ran a hand through her hair, frowning when she found it went down to her hips. It would be completely unmanageable until she got it cut, but luckily she had plenty of money with her.

She'd taken a couple of bags through with her. Clothing, toiletries, and a tent to set up. While she wasn't big on camping it would be nice to finally get some time to herself. Well over a week- thirteen days.

It almost didn't feel like enough, but at the same time, she was already starting to regret her decision as she realized that she was in the middle of a forest. She could see the road a while ahead, and she had materials to create a boundary around her and make herself undetectable by the rest of the world, but she wasn't sure how far away the town was.

With a sigh, she got to work setting up her tent, glad that at least the grass was soft and the sky was blue- no rain to ruin her night or make setting up difficult. She was sure that it would have been difficult to set the tent up if she hadn't done it so many times before, but as it was she had it up in a good ten minutes or so.

"Well…" She stuffed some cash into her skirt pocket- yes, praise, the skirt had pockets- and looked out at the road. "I may as well start looking."

Unohana said that the little silver time cat would be somewhere in the neighboring town- it was just over four miles from where she would be camping out. She was _not_ excited about walking five miles every day to search the town. Hopefully, she would miraculously find the silver cat on her first day.

"The sun _is_ just starting to rise." She reasoned. "So I have a good while to find it." For example, in a stylist's shop. Or a restaurant that served those cute little margaritas with the umbrellas in them. Or maybe just a liquor store- she needed to stock up for the 'not quiet a week but close' that she would be spending in the future.

She started down the road carefully, looking out for any human cars. Things hadn't changed very much- the road looked a little different, and the one car that did past her was a little changed. But other than that, things looked as they always had.

She wished she could go see a thirty-something year old Inoue. That would have been incredible- same with Kurosaki and the rest. She knew she couldn't- she wasn't even in the right town- but she still couldn't help but smile knowing they were out there, somewhere.

_I wonder what everyone else looks like. Probably the same. Different haircuts, maybe. And Ichigo probably unlocked eighteen more hidden talents or something like that. Maybe he married Rukia by now. I wonder how that would go- one living soul and one dead soul united… well, technically, he's both. He's_ everything _that there is._

She looked up at a passing car, giving a small wave. _I should have brought a soul candy in case of an emergency._ She reasoned. _I can get one if I order from Urahara- he'll have it here before the day is over. But then, he'll ask questions and I'm not supposed to mess around with the time line. Looks like I'll have to just leave my dumb body on the ground or something if anything happens._

When Rangiku made it to the town, things were already in high-gear. The small city wasn't nearly as big as Katakura, but it wasn't going to be easy to search the entire place for one silver cat. She'd be lucky if she found it that day- that much was clear.

Before she got her hair cut, Rangiku went out for breakfast. She bought food from a cute little café that served sandwiches cut without the crust and cucumber water. It was strange, but not unpleasant.

She stopped in a couple of shops, picked up a couple of bags, and then before she knew it lunch rolled around. So she off the hair cut yet again and made her way to another restaurant to eat shrimp noodles for lunch. She was starting to get discouraged, then, as she realized how enormous the task before her was. She hadn't the slightest clue where to start looking for the object. What if someone had found it and taken it home? She couldn't investigate each and every house-hold. What if someone sold it to another town?

But then, Unohana would have found out if it was going out of the area. Or squad twelve- whoever it was that tracked the object down to begin with.

Her best bet was to find it in a store. Unohana had said it moved a month before and that it has stayed since then. So someone had most likely taken it to display in a shop or something. She was just praying it _wasn't_ in a house, lord, that would be bad.

After lunch she finally got around to getting her hair chopped off at her shoulders. Half-way between her younger self's look and her older self's look, she liked that it was light and, well, cute.

Once she finished up there she popped into every shop on the way to the restaurant closest to the edge of town so that she could stop and get breakfast on the way out. No luck, she didn't find a single thing. She had Udon for dinner and then made her way back to her tent with aching feet.

She dreamt of Gin that night.

She dreamed that he was at her side out in front of the Kuchiki mansion, the two of them staring into the noble's koi pond. Gin's eyes followed the only white koi in the pond. Rangiku's eyes followed his movement, not the fish.

He whispered, "See there, Ran? Tha' white one don't mess with anyone. He just goes 'bout his own business. But he's real sweet on that little orange one over there, he's always swimming in the way of fish tryen' ta' get ta' her. I like 'im. He's got character."

For some reason, in the dream, she didn't realize what Gin was talking about.

She was too interested in the shape of his mouth, and the ridges of his collar bones.

She said, "I like him too." Not realizing exactly what she was saying.

"Ya' shouldn't." Gin mused. "Look there- he just attacked that lil' yella' one. He's real mean, Ran. Only cares 'bout 'imself and the orange one."

She shrugged. "I like him. He's just protective."

He laughed. "Don't think you'd like it to much if it was real life and you were her."

"How do you know?"

"Trus' me." His grin fell. "You wouldn't like it… I know… I know."


	3. Chapter 3

Okay, quick note! I had this ENTIRE fic written out when I started posting it- like, 40 pages. And then I lost all of it, thanks to transferring documents from one computer to another. So I was really uninspired to write for a while, and if everything seems rushed, now you know why, but people were asking for a continuation and I couldn't bear to disappoint. I hope everyone enjoys! Sorry for all the typos!

* * *

The second day went as the first. As the hours crawled by her feet ached more and more, and she found herself doubtful that she'd ever find the damned cat. She stopped in a bar once and wasted two hours, then she picked up sake for her little set-up in the woods, and then because she could she got a couple more bags of clothes. She hoped they would last, crossing back over into the past.

She wouldn't be surprised if they would just dissolve in to nothing on her return- she would just be disappointed.

Before she got home she stopped in a small park, watching koi fish swim in the pond as she tried to remember her dream. Something about the fish and Gin, she knew, but she couldn't remember what had happened. Something. It was always something.

She sighed, the center of her chest aching with lonesomeness. She groaned, throwing her head back, and tried to ignore the couple of people in the park.

She couldn't, however, ignore a certain phase.

_He's creepy._

She sat up, suddenly paying attention to the conversation of two boys walking past. They weren't very old- younger than Kurosaki and his friends, most likely. One was wearing a red shirt, and the other one- the one that had been talking- was wearing a white shirt.

"Yeah," Green shirt agreed. "I mean, the guy's always smirking. And what's with that accent?"

White shirt nodded. "Oh yeah. Gives me the creeps every time he looks-"

"Wait!" Rangiku yelled, running after them. _Gin?!_ "Wait, wait!"

Both of the boys turned around, eyes wide as they watched her run towards them. For a second they seemed to watch her as a whole, taking in the sight of her going full speed in her precarious shoes without problem, her hair whipping from side to side, and then their eyes came to rest on her breasts. They both lit up in red.

"Y-yeah?" Green shirt stuttered when she stopped before them.

"The- the man. The man you were just talking about, what does he look like?"

"Why do you want to know?" White shirt asked, confused.

"Just tell me!"

"F-fine, okay! Jeez, lady, calm down." He wiped his palms on his jeans, nervous. "Um, the guy is kinda tall. Like, six somethin'. White hair, squinty eyes-"

"Does he smile a lot?"

"Ugh, never stops."

She felt her face go red as her heart began to pick up speed. "Where?"

"Er… he runs the arcade just down the road. Snake Eyes."

_Snake?_ She smiled. _Gin!_

"Thank you!" Rangiku yelled, running in the direction the boys had pointed as they spoke. "Thank you very much!"

"Uh… sure…."

Rangiku made her way down the sidewalk as fast as she could go, smile wide as she fought back tears. She couldn't get her hopes up- there was no way Gin would be reincarnated in the very town she had been sent to. But what if he had been? What if this was him? White hair, creepy smile, a snake reference in his establishment, and games. It had to be him!

She ignored people asking if she was okay as she booked it. It was growing late and if the arcade closed she would have to wait- god, there was no way she'd be able to sleep thinking there was a possibility that Gin was back. What would his name be? The same? Would he have changed it?

What if he had a girlfriend?

She stopped, suddenly, before the doors of the arcade, her hand on the glass pane before her.

_What if he has a wife?_

She swallowed, thickly, and ignored the sweat beginning to accumulate on the back of her neck and behind her knees. Oh, she wished she'd put more care into her appearance that morning- if she could go back she'd have put on that perfume that he'd liked, and the strawberry lip-gloss he'd complimented a couple of times. Oh, she'd have put her pink scarf on, too, he'd liked that. And maybe she'd have-

"Calm down." She whispered to herself. "It's… it's just Gin."

Looking up and noticing the lights were being turned off, she quickly pushed her way inside.

The carpet was covered in bowling ball prints, little stars of color here in there in the black. The whole arcade smelled sort of funky, but it looked like a nice place to be if you had a lot of spare change to lose. She carefully stepped inside, looking around for a sign that anyone was there.

"Hello?" She called out.

A snack bar she hadn't noticed earlier in the corner suddenly had a woman behind it's counter- she had run out form the back. "Oh, hi!" She called, friendly on all accounts. "Are you lost?"

She was pretty. Young, fair chest, perfect black hair cropped at her jaw. Usually Rangiku would have liked her right away, but there was a tiny voice in the back of her mind whispering that maybe- just maybe- this woman had wormed her way into Gin's heart.

She tried to smile, despite the twist of her gut. "Um, yes." She started. "I mean no- uh, I'm looking for the owner of this place. Tall guy, white hair…" She waited with her teeth buried in her bottom lip, waiting for any sign that Gin was there.

"Oh! Yes, he's in the back turning things off. Go right ahead."

"Thank you."

Carefully, Rangiku made her way down the aisle between the game systems. She was suddenly having second thoughts. What if Gin had changed? He probably wouldn't recognize her, for that matter, this new Gin would never have met her… What if he didn't like her?

But then the time of truth was upon her. She could see him, just up ahead, his back turned to her. White hair, slight frame, and a cheesy suite. It had to be him.

She had originally planned to be very cool about the whole situation. She'd walk up to him, introduce herself, ask him a couple of questions. But the second she saw him standing there all plans flew out the window.

She ran at him.

"Gin!" She shouted, tears finally coming. She barreled into him from behind, arms wrapping around his torso as she buried her face into his back.

She looked up as he started in surprise, turned around and-

And

And

"You… you're not Gin."

The elderly man smirked at her, yellow teeth catching the dim light. "Hello there, little lady." He said. "Come here to give papa some love?"

Lips twisted in disgust, Rangiku let the man go as if she had been shocked with a volt of harsh electricity. Walking backwards she began to shake her head, eyes wide.

It was stupid, she realized, that she was surprised to find it wasn't him.

She turned.

And she ran.


	4. Chapter 4

Last chapter fixed! Go back for author's note on the story's situation, but the reason the last chapter came out so goofy is because the file for this story I saved got corrupted somehow when I was transferring. So everything came out weird and I couldn't fix it no matter what I tried. :/ Sorry!

Anyway, here's wonder wall.

* * *

The third day didn't go well at all.

Rangiku quickly found out just how wrapped around Gin she is- it's like he's the center of her life. Well, was. Since he was gone there wasn't any one person keeping her grounded- it was everything, from her job to her captain to her friends, everyone had one of the strings she'd sewn to her soul. That way she couldn't float away.

All day she was jumpy. People brushing past her on the sidewalk made her falter in her step, dogs barking made her bite her lip in surprise, and cars- oh, lord, _cars_\- honking made her jump an inch up into the air.

It wasn't right for such a pretty lady to be so out of sorts. Damn it, she should have been controlling the gaze of every male with a working pair of eyes, not the concern of people who thought she was 'lost' and 'confused.'

She searched all day and all night for the little cat figuring. She came close a couple times, only to be met with crushing disappointment. The first time she little cat figure she'd gotten a lead on was made of porcelain and was a light blue sitting out in the window of a cellphone shop. In the future you can get them implanted _in your head_. Freaky.

The second time it was in a sushi shop- carved and yellow, holding a little sign. The third time and fourth time she found the figures in salons- the first was bigger than her and the second was made entirely out of glass. Fifth time it wasn't even a cat, it was a fox, and if that didn't make her throat burn for sake she wasn't sure what would. Sixth time it was closest- a metal cat, exactly she size it needed to be- but the tail had been knocked off. She was sure the cat she was searching for was in one piece, and so she had been lead off to fake cat seven, eight, and then nine. Eventually, she gave up, and once again she found herself in a bar.

"Pretty lady like you is too young to look so sad." The serving boy told her.

She snorted. "Trust me, I'm older than you think."

"Don't look a day past twenty."

While that _was_ good to hear, she sighed. "Bring me a snake bite."

"Oh, shots, too? You have had a bad day."

"Yep. Let's make tomorrow morning worse with a hangover."

The more liquor she nocked back, the closer she came to turning the server boy's hair white. But when his hand touched her thigh she couldn't get his damn eyes to close, couldn't get his wrists to turn skinny or his fingers to become bony.

And so she went home to her little tent, alone, and when she fell asleep she dreamed about a fox that watched the koi pond of her past dreams. When she woke up the next day, she couldn't recall if the fox had eaten the orange fish or if he'd simply drown in the water he jumped into.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry updates are taking to long. Thank you so much to everyone who takes the time to review- you really make writing this worth while!

-o.o.o.o.o-

On the fourth day she didn't start her hunt until noon. By then her head wasn't pounding too hard, though the headache was still a bitch, and some guy happened to be infatuated with her enough so that he takes her around in his fancy little coach-car for a while, showing her plenty of cat thing, thinking that she's a collector.

Eventually she rejected his advances enough that he realized she was no biting, he would have better luck fishing for women somewhere else, and so politely he left her in an antique shop full of little figurines.

None of the figures in the shop had any sort of spiritual traces, and only a select few were feline in nature, and so without too much of ado Rangiku left the small place, glad to be out of a building that reeked of sugar peas.

Despite her massive failure of the mission as to then, Rangiku was still a little impressed with herself. She had managed to scour almost the entire city in a good four days- by the sixth there would be nowhere left to look and she would get a good vacation because either, A- she would have found it, or B- it wasn't there at all.

Even if they did have to send her back, it wouldn't be a bad thing. Sending people to the future was easy. (Sending people back, though, was not. In fact, it was most likely impossible. So again, if she had any hopes of seeing Gin by way of time travel, they had been put out the day she had hugged the weird arcade owner from behind.)

She wasn't obsessed with Gin, anyway. She was just missing him, as anyone would. She wasn't some love-struck teenager; she had known Gin her entire life. She'd not only lost her lover, she'd lost her best friend, her family, and her savoir all in one. It was natural that there would be a piece of her that ached for him, even if he wasn't coming back.

Still, a girl could dream, right?

By the night's end she came to a cute little place. She didn't check the name or see if it was a bar or a restaurant or a café or anything- she saw light and smelled something good, and so she walked in, pushing through the beads hanging in the entrance with a small smile.

Inside she found it was a restaurant- sort of. There was a bar, too, in front of the kitchen. The servers were mostly girls in cute little black dresses and white aprons, but there were some boys with black uniforms, too.

She only had to stand for a second before one of the women came over to her, all smiles. "Hello!" She greeted, nodding once. "Welcome to the Haineko! How many will you be seating this evening, ma'am?"

Rangiku blinked. "I- I'm sorry, did you say this place is called…"

"Haineko." She said, still smiling. "You might not recognize the name- we used to be the Painted Lady up until about a year ago when the building closed down. But now we've reopened as Haineko, so if you liked Painted Lady, you'll love the new place even more. We have a larger menu, better food-"

"Oh. Um, thank you." Rangiku went pink in the face, a little ashamed to have cut the girl off, but mostly just awed that the place was named after her sword of all things. Well, not _after_ her sword, the place just shared a name, but it was still somehow a bit flattering. "I'm by myself tonight."

"Excellent, ma'am." The girl didn't seem to mind having been cut off. "Would you like a seat at the bar or a table?"

"Um… Bar, please. I think I may have something to drink."

"Alright! If you need anything don't be shy- just flag down one of our servers, but for the most part the owner runs the bar. Have a good evening!"

"Um, thanks. You-" Rangiku watched as the girl ran off, zipping to a table where a man had barely just raised his hand. "-too…"

With a small sigh, Rangiku made her way to the bar, watching as the servers bustled about. They really were good at what they did- no hand in the air stayed there for more than an entire second, and even as she was sitting down Rangiku had a menu placed before her.

She briefly looked over the food selection with pursed lips- everything was sort of pricey. But then, everything was sort of exotic, too. Braised chicken, honey roasted ham and potatoes- fancy food from places like Germany and England, some from America, some from Switzerland…

She settled on a rosemary chicken dinner.

Before she had even set the menu down the bartender- the owner, as the girl said- was before her. "Have you decided?" He drawled.

"Yes, um, I think I'll have the rosemary chicken and… um, it says it comes with the drink of the night?" She squinted at the small print, wondering why on earth the menu's font was so odd and squiggly.

"Ah, yes. Tonight's drink is Shinso- a shot to kill!"

Her heart stopped.

Slowly, Rangiku lowered her menu, eyes wide. She could hear the dull roar of her blood in her hears- everything else was quiet, far away. Behind her someone dropped a glass and it shattered, but she didn't even notice, not even as the man before her shook his head and looked off over her shoulder.

"Third glass this week." He sighed.

She just stared.

He seemed to realize, then, that she had been gaping at him without blinking for an abnormally long time.

He grinned, sheepishly, and cracked open his right eye. "You've never seen an albino before, huh? I know it's pretty strange, but if you want, you can take a picture. If you post it anywhere be sure to mention what a damn good drink I make."

Everything shattered around her.

Feeling as though she could barely breathe, Rangiku quietly asked, "What's your name?"

"Eh?" He tilted his head, and then he smiled. "Oh, pardon me, miss. I'm Genkei Hiroyoshi. Pleased to meet you."

"Gen…kei." She breathed.

He nodded. "You can call me Gen- everyone else does."

Numbly, she dipped her head a couple of times. "R-right. Gen."

"And you'd be?"

"Rangiku."

He nodded once. "Rangiku, huh? Nice name. I considered calling this place Rangiku, you know, but it just didn't fit. My car's more important- so I thought about calling her Rangiku, but that's just weird. Rangiku doesn't seem like a green name, you know?"

She nodded, unsure of what to say.

"Anyway… are you okay? Most people just order." He picked up the ticket he had been writing on, raised it up over his head, and didn't even turn as a server snatched it from his grip and went back to the kitchen. "But you look like you've seen a ghost."

"You, um." She licked her lips. _Gin._ "You remind me of someone."

"Really?" he leaned down on the counter, and God, _there_ was the grin she knew. He propped his head up on his hand, lazy-looking even though she knew at any moment he could easily launch himself over the bar. "Is that a good thing?"

"Depends on how you look at it."

"Hm… so I remind you of an ex?"

"Close."

"A past lover?" He laughed, lightly, as he was teasing her. "That's different than ex, you know. It means more."

She nodded once. "Well, I guess you could say that, then."

"Did he leave you?" Once again he cracked open an eye- this one did it so often. "He must have been blind. Or was it a she? Either way, your personality must be ugly indeed if it was enough to get them to go."

"It was a he." She easily answered. "And he died."

For a moment Gin- no, no, not Gin; Gen- froze. And then he easily relaxed, standing and nodding. "My condolences. No wonder you look so shaken."

It was weird to hear him talk without drawling or cutting his words off. He sounded so normal that it was almost scary. But of course he did- what was she thinking? This was Gen. Not Gin. Gen.

"Now, are you going to want that drink, Ran?"

She was going to be sick. "Yes." God, oh God, oh God, she was going to be sick.

"You look like you could use it, no offense." He laughed, lightly, turning to the bottles on the wall behind him. As he poured his Shinso- fuck him, for remembering, fuck him- he talked. "Sorry if I'm being a bit forward with you, giving you a nickname when we've just met. You just seem sort of familiar to me." He turned, her drink in hand, and as he put it before her he opened his eyes yet again to stare her down. "Hm… did you go to Shinobi down over in Kurazawa? Grade school with that weird little ninja monkey mascot?"

She shook her head.

"Oh, I got it! We must have had advanced chemistry together in high school."

"No."

"College?"

She bit her lip. The shinigami academy could have counted as college. But then, that wasn't _him_. "N-nope."

"Huh. Well, I just can't place it. We must have run into each other somewhere. Once you meet someone you never really forget, right?"

Something churned in her stomach. Quickly, she took the shot and slammed it back, swallowing it all in one take. When she breathed again she nodded her head, pushing the little shot glass forward for a re-fill. "That's right."

"Familiarity aside, Ran-chan-" He missed how she flinched. "How do you like the Haineko, hm?"

She shrugged. "It's nice."

"What brought you in? I'm thinking about re-painting everything a kind of persimmon color out front, but if it was the green paint that caught your eye I'll leave it be."

She swallowed. "You sure are chatty."

He smirked. "You've caught my interest."

"Well, nothing caught my eye. It smelled good, so I came in."

"Aw, the little silver cat didn't impress you or anything?"

Her eyes widened. "Cat?"

"Yeah, I just had her painted on the front after this one-" He pointed up at the top of his shelf, and there it was. The metal cat she was looking for. "I found it and thought it would make a good symbol for the place. Do you think so?"

Something stirring in her stomach, Rangiku smiled. Somehow, her heart was starting to warm up with her belly, and even as her food came out from the kitchen, she could feel some sort of hunger building in her gut. "Yeah. It's perfect."


	6. Chapter 6

It's been a little while! Forgive me for how sudden this ends, I swear I have a point and this isn't going to just be another sad fic. It's really going to get good from here, but I just don't think Rangiku would do anything if she didn't have an excuse to give her permission to re-love Gin/Gen, you know? Ugh. Anyway, here it is. Thank you so much for all the reviews so far; I look forward to hearing from you all again.

[Chapter 6]

Rangiku was up and about around noon, shopping for lingerie of all things. She wanted to go into the Haineko for lunch but didn't want to seem like a stalker, even though she figured that she was basically about to become one.

_Why the hell am I looking for sexy underwear?_ She cursed herself in the changing room, peeling the little black number off as she did. _Do you really think you're clever? You think you're going to get him to remember? Oh I'm such an idiot. Such an idiot!_

_Oh. Oh this one's really cute though._

_I can buy it just for me… It's not because of Gin- Gen- or anything._

_Yeah. Just for me._

_But what if he_ did _see me in this? Oh fuck he'd crack open his eyes for this one. And the sound he'd make when peeling it off. Shit. I should get it in aqua. He'd like that better and- HOLD ON THERE. Get ahold of yourself, Rangiku!_

_... Fine. I'll buy it in black. That's just for me, so there._

_But then, on the other hand, it really would look better in green… or blue… or both mixed together. Not so say it would be aqua. And hey, what's wrong with that? A color's a color and I can get whichever one I want!_

_Oh I am so screwed._

She ended up caving and bought the exact model she knew Gin/Gen would like best, and then managed to convince herself that she was getting a few more he would love just for the hell of it. Not because she was planning on invite him for a romp in the bedroom.

She really wouldn't. She couldn't make love to a man she promised to fuck. He wouldn't know what her caresses and silent kisses meant, he wouldn't understand why she would just trail her hands through his hair for hours, he wouldn't… he wouldn't get it at all.

She'd practically be emotionally molesting him.

It would be so easy to just ignore him for her remaining time. She could pop in on him the last day and have closure. She could see he was happy and alive somewhere else and be done with it, but then there was the deal with his stupid cat. She knew Gin, and if this Gen was anything like the original then she wouldn't be able to buy it form him. Gin loved his little good-luck charms and odd bits, and having formally been a soul with such immense spiritual pressure, he could probably feel there was something special about the metal cat.

She'd have to bide her time and some how get it from him, but it would take time.

At least, that was the excuse she was giving herself.

As she made her way down the sidewalk and towards Gen's restaurant, she couldn't help but quell the thoughts running ramped through her head. What if he disliked her? What if all his little kinks and odd likes had changed? What if he wasn't really the same soul she loved- what if he really _was_ just a look alike? But then, the evidence she had against that was more than enough, so…

Oh God. What if…

What if he had a girlfriend? Or for that matter, a boyfriend?

What if he was married?

_Shit, shit, shit!_ She quickened her pace. _I didn't see a ring. But he's so damn elusive, maybe he wouldn't wear a ring just so people wouldn't make assumptions. Maybe he's a cheater. Would he cheat with me? Holy fuck what's wrong with me? Am I so desperate I would wreck someone's home?! Oh God I did buy this underwear for him. I lied. I fucking lied I'm so not over him oh shit, shit, shit!_

She hadn't even realized her feet had carried her to the Heineko until the waitress was welcoming her with a familiar pitch and smile.

"B-bar seat, please." Rangiku said.

"You got it! Your seat from last night is empty, you can head on over there. I'm glad to see you back; it would be nice to have you as one of our regulars. The boss quite likes you."

She swallowed. "He told you that?"

The girl laughed. "Oh, no, of course not! But he talked to you for more than a couple of seconds and he wasn't mocking you, so I'd say he's pretty fond."

_Yep… that's my man._ "I see."

When she slipped up into the bar stool- little dress clinging to her curves because that's how she liked to dress, not because she knew he'd like it a little bit- he came ghosting up to the counter to grin at her.

"Ah, Ran-Chan, you came back. I'm honored."

"Gen, my friend, I couldn't have stayed away if I tried."

"Well now, I didn't know the chicken was _that_ good."

"It was very good. But I came back for… the service."

He laughed. "Now I don't blame you for that. We're the fastest out here, and every one of my staff is as charming as a well-fed kitten."

"Hm."

"Now, what'll it be?"

"What does the chef suggest?"

"The clam chowder."

"And to drink?"

"I've got your sake, don't you worry."

Her heart froze. She stared at him for a long moment. _I never told him I like sake._ She realized. _Does he remember? Please… please let him remember me…_

"Ah, sorry." He flushed a light pink. "There I go again, saying things without any basis. You just seem like the type of woman who likes he sake."

"Well, that's right… So there's no need for apologies here."

"If you're sure. Anyway, I'll get your order to the cook and-"

"Are you married?" _WHAT THE FUCK RANGIKU YOU TOLD YOURSELF YOU WERE GOING TO BE COOL!_

He cracked an eye open. "Well that was sudden."

Her face had to be on fire. That was the only explanation for the sudden wave of burning heat blooming over her cheeks. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you or be so forward, I-"

"Single."

"Huh?"

"I'm single." He grinned, and then casually held up the order he'd written down on a ticket in the single second he had spoken. "And don't worry about being forward. I don't see the point of dancing around these things. Though that's probably why I'm single."

She snorted. "You always say you're single because the girls think you have a creepy face." _Well damn there goes all my pretense. I can't act for shit._

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure we didn't have chemistry together?"

"Positive."

"Hm…" He turned to the shelves behind the bar and quickly plucked a bottle of sake out of rows of glass, turning back to pour it into a saucer for her. "Well we've definitely met before. I can feel it in my lungs."

"Your lungs?" She smiled. "Isn't it supposed to be bones?"

"I'd accuse you of dodging the subject, Ran, but I guess that is weird, huh?"

"Just a lil, Gen."

"I guess I need to work on social interaction."

"I think you're fine as you are."

"Now you're flirting with me, Miss Ran-Chan."

_Well, here goes nothing._ "Is that a problem?"

"…" He stared at her. "You sure are a weird one."

"You're one to talk." She picked up her cup and took a long sip of it, almost giggling with how high on happiness she felt. "What's your favorite animal?"

"Shouldn't you guess?"

"You want me to guess a cat, but that's not it."

"You're starting to scare me." He joked. "You're right. I like foxes."

_Figures._ "What about your favorite number?"

"Hey, now, no fair. That's not how twenty questions goes if I remember right. You ask a question, then I ask one. So you just wait a damn minute there, Ran, and let me ask one."

"Fine. Go ahead."

"Hm…."

"Well?"

"Aw, don't rush me. It's got to be a good one."

"Don't make this all deep-heart-felt stuff, Gen, this game is supposed to be fun."

"Fine then. What's your favorite food?"

"Persimons."

"Well that's my favorite food so I can't be yours. Try again."

"I can have whatever food I want as my favorite, thank you very much."

"Oh and I suppose your favorite animal is a fox, too?"

"No. I like cats."

"Lair."

"I am not!"

"Telepath."

"What?"

"No, wait, I see now. You're a succubus. The devil's finally realized what an incredible asset I could be to him and so he's sent you to tempt me into joining his ranks."

She did laugh, then. "Shut up."

"What's your favorite number?"

"Hey, hey now, you were just saying that's not how the game goes."

"Damn it."

"Yeah, that's right buddy, my turn. What's _your_ favorite number?"

"Three."

"Of course."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing. Ask your question."

"Do you drink to remember or to forget?"

She scowled. "Hey, I said no deep questions."

"You never made it a rule."

"Well, it's a rule."

"From now on. You've got to answer the question. And it goes without saying that you have to be honest now. That or you pass, and I get two more questions."

"Since when are there so many rules?"

"I'm the one doing the interrogating here, Ran, not you."

"Ugh. You're insufferable."

"Thank you."

"…"

"Come on now. Pass or go."

"Ugh. I drink because I like it, okay?"

"Ah. So to remember then."

"No…"

He grinned. Oh, yes, that was Gin. That was the look of a hunter who'd found his prey and cornered it sufficiently. "So you have seen some things then, haven't you?"

"Haven't we all?"

"Naw, you've seen death."

She glared.

"I don't hear you denying. You've seen lots of death, haven't you?"

"This game isn't so fun anymore."

"Oh don't be like that. I know you've been lying to me since you walked in here last night and I haven't said anything, and now you suddenly don't like that I know something about you? You seem to know everything about me."

_I wish he would have lost his brain in the new body._ "How would you even know what I've seen? You can't tell if someone's seen death just by looking at them."

"You can if you've seen it yourself."

"There's no wars in this era. When could you have _possibly_ seen death?"

"Now, the answer to that one's simple, but it's a secret, okay?" He smiled. "Truth is, I've been staring death in the face for a good while. And I'm getting closer to him day by day."

"What are you talking about?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm dying."


	7. Chapter 7

"Gen! Gen!" Rangiku stormed after her white-haired friend, face red with anger. "Get back here, damn it!"

The moment he'd declared his death, Rangiku had been all wide-eyes and slack-jawed, but she'd managed a strangled, "Wh-what are you… what are you talk-talking about!?"

And oh yeah, it was _so him_ to just smile and turn around with a loud exclamation of, "I'm leaving!" to the staff and then just _leave_. Well fuck that. She was done letting Gin run away, Gen sure as hell wasn't going to get away from her.

He'd slipped through the door behind the bar and into the kitchen to make his escape, but with a loud growl she'd thrown herself out of her stood to stalk after him. She pushed past the staff and didn't look twice as people cried that she was not supposed to be there- she just stomped after him.

"Gen!"

He'd looked over his shoulder at her once, eyes widening when he saw she was following him. He'd quickly reached up to a peg beside the door to grab a black hoodie. With that, he ducked out of the restaurant and into the alley behind it.

She'd followed him, practically throwing the doors of their hinges as she flew out them, and that's where she found herself yelling at him.

"Sorry, Ran-Chan!" He yelled from where he was clamoring onto a motorbike. "No can do!"

"Oh you little-" Without a moment of deliberation she lifted her foot and slid her high-heel off, eagerly chucking it at him the moment he started his bike.

It clinked off the front, chipping the paint in the area between the handlebars. Gen reared back from the handles in shock, turning to stare at her with wide eyes. She already had her second shoe off and in hand, prepared to throw.

"I won't miss this time!" She yelled. "I'll throw a stiletto through your damn head before I let you just zip off into the night to never be seen again, Gen, I fucking swear!"

"And if I block it?"

"That's what the purse's for, baby."

Sighing, Gen turned the key back and then pulled it out of the ignition. With a weary, "You're not a cop, are you?" he tucked it into his pocket and then pulled hi hood up around his face, almost seeming to hide from her.

Huffing, Rangiku put her shoe back on and awkwardly hobbled over to the bike where Gen still sat. She retrieved her other shoe and slipped it back on with a sad sigh. She shook her head and slowly turned to her friend, eyes glossy.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" She softly began. "You're always running away from me. But I've had it! I've had enough of you disappearing! I don't care what's going on, I don't care if you think you're helping me in the long run, it doesn't matter. Just… just stay and _talk_ to me for once, damn it… please… I- I can't do this again… not again…"

He just stared at her.

Slowly, she slumped down to her knees, crouching before his bike as she willed herself to breath. She wrapped her arms around herself, beginning to shiver in the cool night air.

He sighed. "There you go again," He stood, dismounting his bike, and then came to stand before her. "Talking like you've known me forever."

She didn't say anything.

"You want to know something, Ran?" He went on without letting her answer, staring up at the sky. "I've seen a lot of weird stuff in my time. Lot's a' creepy things. Once when I was in Tokyo this little blonde with pigtails tried to strangle me with a little red jacket. An that famous doctor kid, he hated me the second I walked in his office down in Karakura. But this is some next level shit, I've gotta say."

She sniffed.

"I mean… you came in yesterday and I felt like I'd been punched right in the chest. I couldn't breath for a second. And you know what? For a second I thought 'she's safe, she survived.' I don't even know you and I was so glad that you came in all in one piece I was almost sick all over myself. Pathetic, right?" He slid down beside her, sitting roughly on the concrete below them. He reached into his pocket and drew out a lighter and a little box of cigarettes. Quietly, he lit one up, and after taking a long drag on it he continued. "I told my friend 'bout it. He's the doorman at my apartment. Meek little thing, mousy brown hair and big eyes, you know the drill… He said that was love at first sight."

She turned to look at him, eyes weary. "You're going to kill yourself with those, you know."

He just gave her a long look.

"Whatever. Continue your story."

"Right... where was I?"

"Love at first sight."

"Ah, that's right. Now, you know, I said that's just damn ridiculous. I've fallen in love before, and that's not what it feels like, not one bit. I felt like I was struck by lightning. You don't get that feeling in your chest until you're watching the love of your life leave you."

"You… You were…"

"I was in college, and he's long gone now."

"Oh."

"I don't love him, Ran. I did. But now I don't. If he walked in through that door the night you did I would have had a nice chat with him and then let him go on his merry way."

"I see."

"No… you don't. Because I haven't told you the whole story yet."

"What?"

"Last night I had a strange dream." He whispered, eyes still concentrated on the heavens. "I was on a long grassy hill, watching two men as they were enveloped in golden light. I don't know them, but in the dream I knew I didn't like them, not one bit. There… there was someone with a sword to my throat, and a hand around my wrist. And you know, I could have stayed there in that moment forever." He turned to her, then. "It was you."

She looked down at the ground.

"Crazy, huh? Dream didn't stop there, either. I was all over this strange land made of sand, and I talked to this girl about you. She hated me so much but she loved you, and I- well… We shared our feelings. For you. Well, Sort of, I don't know. And then I-" He stopped, swallowed, and started to blush. "Well, I've dreamed of things of a not-so-pure virtue before, but I've never dreamed of someone I know. And I apologize for that, I know it's creepy, I-"

"It was the time you said you were sorry afterwards, wasn't it?" She still did not face him. "It would be a lot like you to dwell on that."

"…" He took a long, deep drag, and then breathed the smoke out into the air. He closed his eyes. "So all that really did happen, huh?"

"In another life."

"In _my_ other life."

"You've always been too smart for your own good."

Without another word he leaned over, pillowing his head on her shoulder as he just breathed. She put her own head against his, heart throbbing, and slowly closed her eyes.

"How long's it been, Ran?"

"Nine months… and twenty years."

He winced.

"I'm not even here looking for you." She confessed. "I was sent after your stupid little silver cat thingy. This is the future to me. I exist twenty years in the past, Gen."

"You can call me Gin. I can tell you want to."

"That wouldn't be right."

"Why not?" He sat up, turning to stare at her. "Same soul. Name's not too far away. And, hey, punchline to all of this, I'm going to die just like the last version did."

"You're too calm about this." She muttered. Slowly, she slipped her hand into his pocket, not to hold his hand, but just to feel his skin against her own. "What do you mean? Are you really dying, Gin?"

"Fraid so."

"Of what?"

He sighed. "Listen… I'd say this is a bit scandalous, since we met yesterday and all, but really I've known you longer than that, so how about we head back to my place? It's cold and I'm tired and all I really want to do is put on some damn pajama pants."

"If I come with you, do you promise you'll explain?"

"Yes."

Gin wasn't one to go back on his word, either. About twenty minutes later, Rangiku unwound her arms from around Gin's waist, taking his helmet off as she did so. He quietly lead her past the door man and up to his room, and then he left her on his bed wrapped up in the quilt while he changed.

"It's my heart."

She leaned over, trying to hear him better from where he was changing in the bathroom. "What?"

"My heart." He came out of the bathroom, then. He was wearing long black pajama pants and had a loose white T-shirt on. He brushed his teeth and if his squinting was anything to go by, apparently he'd had contacts in but had taken them out. "Funny, right?"

"Stop joking around, will you?"

"Fine." He sat down heavily on the bed, leaning back so that his head touched her knees. "Something's wrong with my heart. Again, I think it's hilarious, since I've been 'heartless' since day according to my peers. But… there's something wrong with one of the chambers, I can't really explain it, but it's too small, and then there's another part that's too big, too. It's just all kinds of messed up, and it's already over-stressed. I've got about four months before it quits on me."

She nodded once.

"Don't be too sad, though. You already know me as a dead-man, so this isn't so bad, right?"

"Shut up. It's bad either way, you damned idiot."

"Hm. I guess. But- hey- Hey! Hey now no crying, please no crying, damn it, that's one of my big last things, remember? Gin- me- _I_ did all that so you wouldn't have to cry and now that you see me again…" He began to frantically wipe at her face with his thumbs, leaning towards her as she pulled back. "Stop it, Ran-Chan, you're making a mess…"

She began to wipe at her face, too, looking down at her mascara and eyeliner where it left streaks on her hands. She probably did look like a mess, but at that moment, she didn't care.

"It's not fair! I just got you back and- and now-"

"Hey, hey, calm down, you've got me for a while more, right?"

"I leave in four days, Gin! Four!"

He froze. "So soon?"

"I've fucked it all up! Don't you see? I'm leaving! I'm not going to be around when you die- you'll spend all this time alone like before, I don't want that, why don't you have friends this time you idiot, you… you… you…" She started to quietly sniff.

"I've missed you."

"Shut up, you didn't even know I existed until yesterday."

He grinned. "Now see, Ran-Chan, my heart missed ya'! Little bastard's betraying me just to go see you again. It got tired of waiting around and you know what? It started to think, hey, let's kill him! Then we'll see her sooner!"

"You're making me feel worse."  
"Well damn."

"You've always been shit at comforting, Gin, just let it be."

"Yeah, I guess so, huh?" He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, his free hand fixing her hair while he sheepishly smiled. "But you're blushing, so I must have done something right."

"I'm not blushing because you flattered me."

"Then what-" he noticed how he'd begun to trace her jaw. "Oh."

"It's been a long, long time, Gin." She started to lean in closer.

He gulped, eyes flickering to her lips. "It really has been, hasn't it?"

They closed the gap with a soft sigh.

…

Rangiku really hadn't been planning on Gin seeing the underwear she'd bought in his memory. But life has a way of going much different that you planned it to.


End file.
